A strange coalition of media critics have come together to accuse conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt of baiting GOP frontrunner Donald Trump with “gotcha” questions.
Among those who believe Hewitt indeed aimed to trip up the 2016 Republican presidential candidate are right-wing entertainer Laura Ingraham, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and CNN political analyst David Gergen.
The criticism came after Trump joined Hewitt by phone Thursday evening to discuss foreign policy. As the interview wore on, it became increasingly clear that Trump was unfamiliar with the topic at hand.
Trump at one point responded to a question about the Quds by suggesting that the United States has treated the Kurds terribly. He explained later that he simply misunderstood the question. Elsewhere, Trump was unable to explain whether he knew the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah. At another moment in the interview, Trump was unable to answer a specific policy question on China, and instead responded by bragging about his polling numbers.
Perhaps realizing that it wasn’t his best interview, Trump later lashed out at Hewitt, accusing the “third-rate radio announcer” of playing “gotcha” journalism. Several defenders quickly came to his aid.
Immediately after the interview Thursday evening, CNN’s Gergen said that Hewitt was clearly asking “gotcha” questions.
When candidates are asked, “who’s the head of this African government or that African government, who’s what’s the difference between Tajikistan and Pakistan, you know, those are regarded as gotcha questions,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “That’s an old trick and those are gotcha questions.”
Trump superfan Laura Ingraham went after Hewitt on social media, suggesting in a note to her Twitter followers Friday morning that the radio host is now the “new Katie Couric.”
Ingraham’s tweet appears to be a reference to when Couric in 2008 supposedly tripped up vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin with a “gotcha” question about her preferred news sources. Ingraham’s tweet also appears to be casting Trump as 2015’s Sarah Palin.
Even Sen. Paul suggested Friday that Hewitt’s questions were “gotcha” questions.
“I’m not big on defending Donald Trump by any means and I’ve been one of his fiercest critics,” Paul said in a radio interview Friday morning, “[But] I … think that running through a list every different Arab name and asking people to respond to them is a little bit of a game of gotcha.”
“I’m not into defending Donald Trump and you find it often. But I think some interviewers do like to play this game,” he said.
Hewitt responded Friday morning to Ingraham’s suggestion that he hasn’t asked any of the other 2016 Republican presidential candidates similarly difficult foreign policy questions.
“Memo to [Laura Ingraham],” he tweeted, adding a link to a recent interview wherein he queried former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on a number of issues, including the invasion of Iraq, Ohio class submarines and Middle Eastern dynasties and democracies.
Also noteworthy: Immediately after Trump’s interview Thursday evening, Hewitt hosted 2016 Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina. He asked the sole female voice in the GOP’s 17-person field the exact same questions that he asked Trump.
Unlike Trump, Fiorina came prepared to discuss foreign policy.
The Republican presidential candidates will meet again for their second primary debate on Sept. 16. The CNN-hosted debate will be moderated by Jake Tapper and feature input from Hewitt.
